Bensenville O'Hare Lawsuit

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, COUNTY DEPARTMENT, LAW DIVISION

JACK RISER; HAROLD R. BOTEFUHR; JOSE CORTEZ; CRYSTAL CORTEZ; THOMAS FORMAN; JOANNA FORMAN; MIKE NATIELLO; VERA NATIELLO; MAHIR DOSSAJI; REBECCA DOSSAJI; JUNE FRANZ; CZESLAW GORNIAK; JOLANTA GORNIAK; GEORGE LEVITT; TAMMY LEVITT; MICHAEL A. MORUZZI; SANDRA A. MORUZZI; JOHN F. PELIKAN; GRZEGORZ SLOWIK; GABRIELA SLOWIK; KEITH WOODBURY; SETH DOWLING; BLESSY DOWLING; MILTON MERCADO; JEANETTE MERCADO; THOMAS YOHANNAN; DORIS LALLY; DAN KEEHN; NINA KEEHN; JEFFERY AGONATH; MATTHEW MADIAR; JOSE AGUIRRE, DAVID D.A. AGUIRRE; OSCAR BAEZ; MARK KRAJECKI; JACK EVERMAN; DIANNA ROSCINSKI; ADAM MAZURKIEWICZ; LEONARDA GONZALEZ; MALGORZATA LABEDZ; MARCIN DANEWICZ; AGNIESZKA DANEWICZ; DOLORES DAILY; HERB WEIGELT; ZBIGNIEW JAKUBOWSKI; KEN LESTINA; ADAM KRAJEWSKI; BARBARA KRAJEWSKI; JOZEF ANTAL; MARTA ANTALOVA; URSZULA NIEMIRSKI; JOHN FINNEGAN; SHERRI FINNEGAN; GODOFREDO VICTORINO; DARIUSZ KLEPACKI; HENRY HAMMACHER; THOMAS STEFFENSEN; PATRICIA STEFFENSEN; FARIDEH BRUESSARD; NORA PORRATA; SOPHIA SARNECKI; MAKSIM MANIGODA; BENJAMIN SILVA; GREG FRANKOWSKI; LYUDMYLA LUGOVA; OSCAR MADRIGAL; MARIA MADRIGAL; CELIA HERNANDEZ; JAMES PAGANUCCI; MICHAEL A. JACKSON; ANTONI CHRZANOWSKI; ORONZO PECONIO; CONCETTA PECONIO,

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CASE NO. _________________ JUDGE: ________________ JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

ELECTRONICALLY FILED10/1/2015 8:30 AM10/1/2015 8:30 AM10/1/2015 8:30 AM10/1/2015 8:30 AM

2015-L-0099552015-L-0099552015-L-0099552015-L-009955CALENDAR: X

PAGE 1 of 14CIRCUIT COURT OF

COOK COUNTY, ILLINOISLAW DIVISION

CLERK DOROTHY BROWN

2

Plaintiffs,

vs. CITY OF CHICAGO,

Defendant.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

COMPLAINT

Plaintiffs (hereinafter Plaintiffs or Residents), by and through their undersigned

attorneys, Michael I. Leonard, Derek J. Meyer, and Ethan E. White of LeonardMeyer LLP, state

as follows as their Complaint against the Defendant, City of Chicago (The City):

CASE SUMMARY

1. The City owns and operates Chicago OHare International Airport (OHare).

2. On or about October 17, 2013, the City began operating a new $1.3 billion runway

for the arrival and departure of large commercial aircraft at OHare named Runway 10 C 28 C.

3. Runway 10 C 28 C (the Runway) has an east and west orientation. The use of

the Runway has substantially increased the east and west flow of aircraft arrival and departures at

OHare, and the noise levels associated with the airplanes using the Runway have increased over

time starting from the commencement of the Citys use of the Runway.

4. Bensenville, Illinois is located immediately west of the Runway within the lowest

portion of the Runways flight path. Prior to the construction of the Runway, the City acquired

hundreds of residences and businesses in the Bensenville community under threats of

condemnation and eminent domain. The City subsequently demolished these private properties in

connection with the construction of the Runway.

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5. The Residents live in the Bensenville community, in close western proximity to the

former locations of the demolished Bensenville properties.

6. Many of the Residents lived in their current homes in Bensenville for decades prior

to the opening of the Runway.

7. The City now operates the Runway both day and night for hundreds of flights a

day. The Residents homes are extremely close the Runway, and airplanes using the Runway fly

at very low altitudes directly over their homes and/or their immediate neighborhood day after day

in an unrelenting fashion given the new Runways flight path.

8. Ginger Evans, the Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Aviation, recently

toured Bensenville and observed, We walked and drove around that neighborhood listening to

the aircraft. That is an area of very high impact.

9. At all relevant times, the Residents are and were homeowners directly impacted by

the unreasonable and excessive noise, disturbance, and interference with their lives and private

property resulting from the aircraft utilizing the new Runway now located in extraordinarily close

and threatening proximity to their homes. Exhibit A to this Complaint sets forth in a map format

the locations of the Runway and Plaintiffs homes.

10. The Residents are asserting claims of inverse condemnation against the City based

on the Citys unconstitutional taking of their private properties for public use without just

compensation. That just compensation shall be determined by the finder of fact. Plaintiffs also

assert a claim for unjust enrichment arising out the substantial monetary and economic benefits

the City derives from its use and taking of the Residents property, including but not limited to,

monies earned from the owners of the aircraft that use the Runway.

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JURISDICTION AND VENUE

11. This Court can exercise jurisdiction over this action and venue is proper in

this Circuit because, at all relevant times, the Defendant regularly and continuously did and was

doing business in Cook County, Illinois, and Plaintiffs causes of action arise, at least in part, from

Defendants actions in this County.

THE PARTIES

Plaintiffs

12. Jack Riser resides in and owns the home at 248 N. Walnut Street in Bensenville,

Illinois.

13. John F. Pelikan resides in and owns the home at 701 W. Hillside Drive in

Bensenville, Illinois.

14. Harold R. Botefuhr resides in and owns the home at 906 W. Hillside Drive in


15. Jose and Crystal Cortez reside in and own the home at 1109 Nordic Street in


16. Mahir and Rebecca Dossaji own the residence at 237 N. Walnut Street, Unit C in


17. June Franz resides in and owns the home at 902 W. Hillside Drive in Bensenville,

Illinois.

18. Czeslaw and Jolanta Gorniak reside in and own the home at 579 W. Hillside Drive

in Bensenville, Illinois.

19. George and Tammy Levitt reside in and own the home at 1114 Green Valley Street


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20. Michael A. and Sandra A. Moruzzi primarily reside in and own the home at 906

Brookwood Street in Bensenville, Illinois, and own another home located at 914 Brookwood Street


21. Grzegorz and Gabriela Slowik reside in and own the home at 450 W. Hillside Drive


22. Keith Woodbury resides in and owns the home at 228 Poppy Lane in Bensenville,

Illinois.

23. Seth and Blessy Dowling reside in and own the home at 1018 Twin Oaks Street in


24. Milton and Jeanette Mercado reside in and own the home at 222 Tioga Avenue in


25. Thomas Yohannan resides in and owns the home at 221 Marshall Road in


26. Doris Lally resides in and owns the home at 901 W. Glendale Street in Bensenville,

Illinois.

27. Dan and Nina Keehn reside in and own the home at 1110 Nordic Street in


28. Jeffery Agonath resides in and owns the home at 235 Marshall Road in Bensenville,

Illinois.

29. Matthew Madiar resides in and owns the home at 247 N. Church Road in


30. Jose Aguirre resides in and owns the home at 231 Tioga Avenue in Bensenville,

Illinois.

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31. David D.A. Aguirre resides in and owns the home at 609 W. Hillside Drive in


32. Oscar Baez resides in and owns the home at 901 Medinah Street in Bensenville,

Illinois.

33. Mark Krajecki resides in and owns the home at 901 Brookwood Street in


34. Jack Everman resides in and owns the home at 228 N. Walnut Street, Unit B, in


35. Dianna Roscinski resides in and owns the home at 234 N. Walnut Street, Apartment

D, in Bensenville, Illinois.

36. Adam Mazurkiewicz resides in and owns the home at 399 W. Hillside Drive,

Apartment 3, in Bensenville, Illinois.

37. Leonarda Gonzalez resides in and owns the home at 875 W. Hillside Drive in


38. Malgorzata Labedz resides in and owns the home at 260 Mohawk Drive in


39. Marcin and Agnieszka Danewicz reside in and own the home at 230 N. Walnut

Street, Apartment D, in Bensenville, Illinois.

40. Dolores Daily resides in and owns the home at 231 Mohawk Drive in Bensenville,

Illinois.

41. Herb Weigelt resides in and owns the home at 262 Mohawk Drive in Bensenville,

Illinois.

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42. Zbigniew Jakubowski resides in and owns the home at 237 N. Walnut Street in


43. Ken Lestina resides in and owns the home at 1112 Nordic Street in Bensenville,

Illinois.

44. Adam and Barbara Krajewski reside in and own the home at 310 Marshall Road in


45. Jozef Antal and Marta Antalova reside in and own 379 W. Hillside Drive,

Apartment 4, in Bensenville, Illinois.

46. Urszula Niemirski resides in and owns the home at 221 N. Walnut Street in


47. John and Sherri Finnegan reside in and own the home at 250 Tioga Avenue in


48. Godofredo Victorino resides in and owns the home at 533 Marshall Road in


49. Dariusz Klepacki resides in and owns the home at 702 W. Hillside Drive in

Bensenville Illinois.

50. Henry Hammacher resides in and owns the home at 237 N. Church Road in


51. Thomas and Joanna Forman reside in and own the home at 697 W. Hillside Drive


52. Gayle Kurtzrock resides in and owns 236 N. Walnut Street, Apartment A, in


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53. Thomas and Patricia Steffensen reside in and own the home at 225 N. Church Road


54. Farideh Bruessard resides in and owns the home at 614 W. Hillside Drive in


55. Nora Porrata resides in and owns 238 N. Walnut Street, Apartment A, in


56. Sophia Sarnecki resides in and owns 222 N. Walnut Street, Unit A, in Bensenville,

Illinois.

57. Maksim Manigoda resides in and owns the home at 243 N. Church Road in


58. Benjamin Silva resides in and owns the home at 808 Algonquin Avenue in


59. Greg Frankowski and Lyudmyla Lugova reside in and own the home at 617 W.

Hillside Drive in Bensenville, Illinois.

60. Oscar and Maria Madrigal reside in and own the home at 616 W. Hillside Drive in


61. Celia Hernandez resides in and owns the home at 246 N. Church Road, and is also

the owner of homes on Green Valley Street (1008) and 479 W. Hillside Drive in Bensenville,

Illinois.

62. James Paganucci resides in and owns the home at 256 Mohawk Drive in


63. Michael A. Jackson resides in and owns the home at 212 Mohawk Drive in


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64. Antoni Chrzanowski resides in and owns the home at 238 Poppy Lane in


65. Mike and Vera Natiello reside in and own the home at 1004 Green Valley Street,

and they are also the owners of the home at 1006 Green Valley Street in Bensenville, Illinois.

66. Oronzo and Concetta Peconio, reside in and own the home at 1001 Glendale.

Defendant

67. The Defendant, City of Chicago, is a municipal corporation.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

68. In and prior to the Fall of 2013, the City informed the Residents of its intention to

open the Runway. The City publicly assured the Residents that this new runway would not have

a material impact upon their lives, property, or neighborhoods. The City also repeatedly assured

the Residents that the volume of air traffic would not be significant, and that it would not be

disruptive.

69. The Citys assurances were and remain untrue.

70. The passage of time has revealed that hundreds of large, loud commercial aircraft

now use the Runway on a daily basis.

71. These planes land and takeoff beginning in the early morning hours each day (i.e.,

4:00 or 5:00 a.m.), and continue until the very late evening hours -- up to and including midnight

-- and oftentimes even continue past midnight until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. the next morning.

72. Moreover, the planes regularly using the Runway to land and takeoff include

jumbo, cargo, Cessna, and the largest of commercial aircrafts.

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73. As the aircraft approach the Runway, they often come in anywhere from below 100

to 200 feet in altitude and generally, if not always, less than 500 feet above the ground. The planes

literally roar down the Residents neighborhood streets and/or directly over their homes. It is a

scene that must be observed to be believed.

74. In fact, the Village of Bensenville has trimmed back trees belonging to, and in the

yards of, certain Residents so as to not obstruct or impede the low flight path of the planes coming

in for landings on the Runway.

75. The Village of Bensenville has even removed a grammar school, entirely, from the

flight path of the Runway, acknowledging the danger, nuisance, and distraction posed to the

Residents children.

76. There was an incident where an engine or other large aircraft part fell off one of the

aircraft and landed in the Village of Bensenvilles swimming pool. Had the pool been occupied

at the time, a number of deaths would have certainly resulted.

77. The planes utilizing the Runway to land also routinely create a vortext effect in

connection with the hundreds if not thousands of landings a week. In other words, a short time

after each plane roars through the Residents neighborhood a significant wind or blowback is

created that creates a whooshing and blowing effect for a period of time after each and every

landing.

78. The cumulative impact to date that the City use of the Runway has had upon the

Residents is virtually impossible to adequately describe in words. In short, and without

exaggeration, it has wreaked havoc upon their daily lives.

79. The Residents sleep is and has been regularly interrupted.

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80. The Residents suffer from a constant uneasy feeling -- based upon the combination

of the volume, sound, and close proximity of the planes utilizing the Runway -- that is, or is attune

to, a stress disorder.

81. The noise levels created by the planes utilizing the Runway are at harmful and

unacceptable levels.

82. The Residents ability to enjoy the normal use of their homes, inside and out, has

been destroyed.

83. The Residents are no longer able to enjoy the normal and expected use of their

porches, yards, patios, driveways, and sidewalks including for recreation, entertainment,

pleasure, or contemplation. Even gardening has been severely compromised or eliminated because

of the effects of the toxins and pollution upon them.

84. Inside the Residents homes, things are not much better.

85. The City has confiscated the Residents private property and the interests therein.

86. The Residents children cannot enjoy normal childhoods and childhood activities

in and about the affected properties and homes.

87. The Residents family and home life is in constant stress and distress because of

sleep interruption and deprivation caused by the planes use of the Runway.

88. The planes utilizing the Runway have also, inter alia, caused vibrations to the

Residents homes; caused shingles to come loose; left an oily residue on their homes and property;

caused cracking of walls, ceilings, windows, and foundations; caused leaking roofs; caused ceiling

fans to come loose; resulted in soaring electric bills (due to the Residents inability to open

windows because of the excessive and constant noise); caused intermittent loss of cell phone and

internet connectivity; and caused intermittent loss of electricity.

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89. As a direct and proximate result of all of the foregoing, the City has dramatically

and negatively forever altered the lives of the Residents, and has caused their homes to plummet

in value and to be undesirable, unusable, and unsafe.

90. The Residents repeated entreaties to Governmental and elected officials have been

unanswered.

91. The Residents were in their homes before the City began its operation of the

Runway. They are legally entitled to the normal use and enjoyment of their homes and property.

92. The City should not be allowed to take their private property for public use without

just compensation as determined by a jury.

COUNT I (Inverse Condemnation)

93. The Plaintiff Residents, re-allege, as though fully set forth herein, Paragraphs 1

through 92 above, as Paragraph 93 of Count I of their Complaint.

94. The Citys actions, as described above, and the impact upon the Residents,

constitute an unconstitutional taking of the Residents private property.

95. The City has not provided just compensation to the Residents for this taking.

96. The noise and other interference from the regular, frequent and persistent flights to

and from the Runway, and directly over and in close proximity to the Residents homes and

properties, has substantially interfered with the use and enjoyment of them, has substantially

diminished the value of Residents homes and property and otherwise damaged the Residents

private property.

97. The substantial interference with the use and enjoyment, and the diminution in

value of the Residents homes and property constitutes a taking of the Residents private property

for public use by the Defendant City of Chicago and for its benefit.

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98. The Residents are entitled to just compensation as determined by a jury for the

value of the property taken and the diminution in value to the remaining property not taken.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs, by and through their undersigned counsel, respectfully request

the entry of an Order granting judgment in their favor and against the Defendant, City of Chicago,

in an amount to be proven at trial but in excess of the jurisdictional minimum for an action to be

filed in this Department of the Court, representing the fair market value of each and every one of

their homes and properties prior to the deprivation caused by the Defendant; for their relocation

expenses; for their fees and costs; for all relief to which they are otherwise entitled; and for such

other and further relief as is appropriate under the circumstance.

COUNT II (Unjust Enrichment)

99. The Plaintiff Residents, re-allege, as though fully set forth herein, Paragraphs 1

through 92 above, as Paragraph 99 of Count II of their Complaint.

100. The City has directly and proximately received a benefit by way of its improper

taking and use of the Residents property.

101. The City derives a substantial monetary and economic benefit from its use and

taking of the Residents property, including but not limited to, monies earned from the owners of

the aircraft that use the Runway.

102. It would be unjust and inequitable to allow the City to use and take the Residents

property without compensation to the Residents.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs, by and through their undersigned counsel, respectfully request

the entry of an Order granting judgment in their favor and against the Defendant, City of Chicago,

in an amount to be proven at trial but in excess of the jurisdictional minimum for an action to be

filed in this Department of the Court, representing the amount that the Defendant City of Chicago

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has been unjustly enriched at the expense of and to the detriment of the Plaintiff Residents; for

their fees and costs; for all relief to which they are otherwise entitled; and for such other and further

relief as is appropriate under the circumstance.

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,

By: s/Michael I. Leonard Counsel for the Plaintiffs/Residents

LEONARDMEYER LLP Michael Irving Leonard Derek J. Meyer Ethan E. White 203 North LaSalle, Suite 1620 Chicago, Illinois 60601 (312) 380-6559 (phone) (312) 264-0671 (fax) [email protected] Dated: October 1, 2015

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Documents

Bensenville O'Hare Lawsuit